Day 1 — The Golden Triangle of Art & Retiro Park
Madrid's three great museums sit within a fifteen-minute walk of each other along the Paseo del Prado, and day one is built around them. Start at the Museo del Prado — Velázquez's *Las Meninas*, Goya's *Saturn Devouring His Son* and the Black Paintings, El Greco, Titian, Bosch's *Garden of Earthly Delights*. Pick three or four rooms to know well rather than trying to see everything; even a focused visit takes two to three hours.
Lunch nearby, then continue to the Museo Reina Sofía for Picasso's *Guernica* — the room housing it is genuinely one of the more powerful spaces in European museum-going. The building's Jean Nouvel extension is worth a look in its own right.
If you have energy left, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza rounds out the trio with 700 years of Western painting in a less overwhelming format than the Prado. The combined ticket for all three is good value if you're doing all of them in one day.
Afternoon: Retiro Park, directly behind the Prado. Walk to the Crystal Palace, a Victorian glass pavilion used for contemporary art shows, and the lake, where you can rent a rowing boat. Evening: dinner in Salamanca or back toward Sol.
Day 2 — Historic Centre: Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor & Sol
Morning: the Royal Palace, official residence of the Spanish royal family though they don't actually live there. It's the largest royal palace in Western Europe by floor area, and the state rooms — gilded, frescoed, over the top — justify the entrance fee. The adjacent Almudena Cathedral took over a century to complete; the roof terrace has good views over the city.
From the palace, walk to Plaza Mayor, the arcaded 17th-century square that has hosted markets, bullfights, and executions across its history. It's touristy but essential to see once. Continue to Mercado de San Miguel, just off the square, for a mid-morning snack — vermouth, oysters, and pintxos under a beautiful iron-and-glass roof.
Afternoon: Puerta del Sol, the symbolic centre of Spain (Kilómetro Cero is marked in the pavement), then walk Gran Vía from Sol toward Plaza de España — Madrid's grand early-20th-century boulevard, theatrical and neon-lit.
Evening: Chueca for dinner. Madrid's LGBTQ+ neighbourhood is also one of its best for restaurants and nightlife, with a welcoming, lively energy that runs late.
Day 3 — La Latina, Lavapiés & the Tapas Crawl
Morning: If it's a Sunday, start at the Rastro flea market, which takes over La Latina's streets. Any other day, start with a walk through La Latina itself — the most characterful of Madrid's central neighbourhoods, all narrow medieval streets and centuries-old tapas bars.
Follow with a Sunday-style vermouth even if it isn't Sunday — red, sweet, on ice with an olive, at any old-school bar on Cava Baja. It's traditionally a late-morning ritual before lunch.
Lunch: a menú del día at a neighbourhood spot in La Latina — starter, main, dessert, and a drink for around €10–12, one of Madrid's best value traditions.
Afternoon: walk south into Lavapiés, Madrid's most multicultural neighbourhood — Indian, Moroccan, Chinese, and African restaurants sit alongside alternative art spaces and cheap flamenco venues. It's the most interesting district in the city for food diversity and worth an unhurried wander.
Evening: back to La Latina after dark for the full tapas crawl along Cava Baja and Cava Alta. Bodegas Ricla, El Viajero, and Taberna Txakolina are reliable stops — order one or two things at each place and keep moving between bars. This, more than any single sight, is the real Madrid experience.